Putting to Memory: Ephesians 1:3-14

May 11, 2010

On Sunday evenings we have been studying Ephesians 1. What a joy it has been to savour Paul’s opening praise to God, in verses 3 to 14!

Paul’s words are so tremendous that Nicki and I have been trying to memorise them. Week on week, verse by verse and little by little, we’ve been trying to learn Ephesians 1:3-14 ‘off by heart’. I thought I might encourage others to aim for the same goal. The passage is not that long, so it is entirely realistic.

So far, we have learned verses 3-8:

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

Following that, we will gradually memorise the remainder:

9And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. 11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Only yesterday I discovered that Zwingli learned the entire Greek New Testment off by heart. Maybe this is partly why he was so powerfully used by God. Would any of us even remotely contemplate attempting it? Paul Williams http://www.paulwilliams.blogsome.com

Colin, great to see you memorizing EPHESIANS 1:3-14. There is so much in that passage where the only possible response is, “WOW!! Could this possibly be true? Is a relationship with Jesus Christ really that transforming?? What a great challenge to today’s trivial gospel!

I want to share with you my favorite free Scripture memory website, http://www.memverse.com which stores, organizes and maximizes Scripture verses. It is especially great for groups who memorize together.

I also want to share my favorite Scripture memory event, the new National Bible Bee (Now in its 2nd year) It is a competition for 7-18 year olds with outlandish cash prizes, but it is also a great resource to help everyone of all ages memorize a lot of Scripture http://www.biblebee.org

If you have questions on memverse or the Bible Bee or any thoughts on Scripture memory, please feel free to get in touch. In Christ, Phil Walker philjohn1558@yahoo.com (573)822-4015